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Blockchain Unleashed for Climate Action

The climate crisis raises disruptive issues that require, as part of the response, the use of disruptive technologies such as Blockchain.
Join the panel discussion during the Convergence Global Blockchain Congress in Malaga.

Graph Building Block(chain)s for a Better Planet

Graph: World Economic Forum: (2018) Building Block(chain)s for a Better Planet

Graph Building Block(chain)s for a Better Planet

The panel will bring together policymakers, finance experts and development practitioners who have first-hand experience in harnessing blockchain technologies to support climate action programs. They will discuss use cases of Blockchain technology in climate action and climate policy making and where available share experiences on its implementation.

Please join us at the Convergence Global Blockchain Congress in Malaga
Panel discussion 12 November, 2019 - 15:45 - 16:30 

Keynote address:Leveraging innovations in Blockchain technologies for climate actions 
Massamba Thioye, Manager, Sustainable Development Mechanism, UNFCCC

Moderator: Bjorn-Soren Gigler, Senior Digital Innovation Officer, EC

Speakers

  • Tom Baumann, Founder and Co-Chair, Climate Chain Coalition
  • Deanna MacDonald, CEO, Blockchain Labs for Open Collaboration (BLOC)
  • Juerg Fuessler, Managing Partner, IFRAS, Climate Leader Initiative 
  • Steven Haft, Head of Global Partnerships’ CONSENSYS
  • Lauren Carter, Senior Engagement leader, Innovate4Climate, UNDP   

 

Blockchain technologies- powerful innovation to enable climate action 

Blockchain is a powerful tool that can serve to significantly improve the transparency, accountability and traceability of green gas house emissions. It supports companies to provide more accurate, reliable, standardized, and readily available data on carbon emissions. Given that blockchain works as a decentralized network of independent nodes that provide instant authentication, the verification of real-time data, immutable data records and efficiency and timeliness, it can be catalyzed through smart contracts to better calculate, track and report on the reduction of carbon footprint across the entire value chain. 
Importantly, blockchain technologies can transform the individual efforts of companies into a concerted networked effort, while clearly pinpointing the contributions that individual actors make toward the societal goal of reducing the carbon footprint. It is a propitious convergence, whereby the spirit of competition and carbon market-based incentives dovetail into a win-win situation for all.
Clean technology startups play a critical role in this process, by developing blockchain enabled platforms that bring together all stakeholders, including companies, government and citizens.  The decentralized approach of blockchain, provides both breadth and depth, as it engages and enables everyone to participate on the calculation, tracking and reporting of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions along the entire supply chain (including manufactures, suppliers, distributors and consumers.)  Thus, innovations in blockchain technologies can become a powerful enabler for collective action to fight climate change.
Recognizing the unique value of clean technology startups in this process is of essence. Investors are in fact, starting to take notice of their unique value.

Key questions that will be discussed during the panel include:

  • How can blockchain technologies best serve to overcome the tragedy of the commons and incentivize different actors to reduce their carbon footprint and consider the overall societal impact of their actions?
  • What financial and technical assistance tools can be deployed to deepen our support for blockchain innovations that in turn, increase the transparency and accountability of carbon finance programs?
  • How can we accelerate blockchain-based solutions that establish a network between suppliers and consumers and move beyond the individual, to include all societal stakeholders (industry, distributors and citizens)?
  • How can we boost the role of blockchain technology in finance for climate actions (i.e. green bonds and alternative finance mechanisms)?
  • How can UN agencies, the European Commission and national governments further strengthen their collaboration to support a green innovation ecosystem and improve financing for green technology startups and SMEs?

Background reading

Principal Organizer:
Björn-Sören Gigler, PhD
Senior Digital Innovation Specialist
European Commission
Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology
Unit F3, Digital Innovations and Blockchain
Avenue de Beaulieu 33, 1160 Brussels/Belgium
Tel: +(32) 229-816-26